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7 Must have apps in Mumbai

4:44 PM

Life is really crazy at the moment over here, and while I'll share a lot more about it later, this involve us moving to a new flat this weekend.
Needless to say that I have no time to produce a whole new blog post but updating one that got outdated is right up my alley in this chaos.
When you create a blog post about apps your phone must be equipped with in Mumbai, things are bound to be update prone.

In that short amount of time (2 years!), a lot of start ups went kaput and along with them the app and services they offered. Fortunately, for each of them, a similar app replaced it.

So, peeps, time to update those apps on your phone if you haven't already, and for all those of you new to Mumbai, this is what you absolutely must download on your phone to make your life a whole lot easier.

- Swiggy : Having a busy day and no time to cook? But too tired to locate a menu, and repeat your order 5 times over the phone? Or no cash to pay the delivery boy? Swiggy is your saviour.
This nifty little app will pick up your location via the phone's GPS and tell you which restaurants in your area will deliver through them. They list all the menus, prices, and let you pay by cash, card or Swiggy money. Some restaurants are marked as "Swiggy Assured" and if your delivery from these restaurant comes late, Swiggy automatically refund up to 200 rupees in "Swiggy Money". The app gives you a live tracking once your order has been picked up, so you can see where the delivery person is.

Currently the app works in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Gurgaon (according to their website). It is available for download on both Android and iOS phones.

This has pretty much replaced the TinyOwl app which had a bit of a hiatus before coming back as "runnr".

- Grofers : This app makes Grocery shopping a bit simpler, like Swiggy, it picks up your GPS location and if you select a store belonging to the "Express Delivery" it should be delivered within a couple of hours. It's pretty handy to order staples and basic fruits and vegetables (careful about the freshness of these though)
You can pay by card in the app, or opt for the cash on delivery option.

The app works in select cities across India, and is available on both Android and iOS phones.

Once upon a time, it was one of my favourite app. BUT they started reframing their services in the past year, and deliveries for a lot of things I used to order through them became impossible or took more time. It's still a convenient app to have and they still do a decent job at grocery shopping for you, but it's no longer as reliable should you need your stuff within two hours of ordering. For that, Amazon Now (affiliate link) appears to do the job better.

- UrbanClap : If like me you are tired of chasing your in-house electrician or carpenter for two miserable holes or a faulty plug for days, Urban Clap is for you. You book your required service through them, be it laundry, carptenters, electricians, plumbers or even a beautitian and they will send someone to your place during your requested time slot.

The app is available on both Android and iOS phones and they work in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

It replaces Task Bob, which has shut operation as of January 2017.

- Dapper : This one is not an app, but a website, which you can access from your phone, so add a shortcut because you are going to love this laundry service!
Are you putting off taking your fancy silk sarees, dress suits and party wear to the dry cleaner simply because you can't be bothered running around to drop them, and then some more to pick it up?

I belong to that tribe, and as Dapper's tag line states : "I'm too cool for laundry". It offers, dry cleaning, only wash, only press, and wash and press services.
All you have to do is go to their website, enter your location, phone number and email ID along with the pick up and delivery time slot of your choice.
Someone will come to your home at the desired time and pick up your clothes. They deliver them nice and clean 2-3 days later, again delivered during your preferred time slot.

- OlaCabs : Need I say more? Along with Uber this app will ensure you won't find yourself in a pickle going places. What's more you can pay your ride without cash. Upon booking a cab you will be given the car and drivers detail and the receipt for your fare will be sent to you at the end of the ride via text message. Say goodbye to rude drivers and faulty meters. Ola Cabs track the distance via GPS and the fare is then calculated as per car type for the distance driven. Easy Peasy.

The app is available in many cities across India and on both Android and iOS phones.

- Rootin : Are you more of a local train person? This app is for you. It gives you live update of Mumbai's local train traffic at any station. Not only will it tell you if a train is running late, it also tells you on which platform to catch it. The app uses your GPS to locate you on a map that indicates where all the the local stations are. No need to learn the name of every single local train stations in Mumbai anymore.

Rootin is quite obviously an app that only works in Mumbai, and it is so far only available on Android phones (I could not find any info about its availability on other devices).

- SAFECab : This app seem to be working worldwide and is a good one to keep in mind if you are going to travel in places that you aren't sure about safety wise, or while using taxis that do not have a GPS tracking system of their own. The app let you enter the name and contact number of friends and relatives you would like to keep in the loop about a particular trip. It tracks you on your phone via GPS and has an emergency button you can use should things go wrong. The emergency button will alert the persons you entered as your contacts for the ride. I haven't had to use it yet, I usually am in constant contact with people on the phone or Whatsapp if I am riding long distance, and I usually take Ola Cabs which does the tracking for me. But it is always good to have a back up plan and this app is it.

So far it seems the app is only available on Android phones, I could not find any info about it becoming available on other devices in the future.

All these apps are on my phone at the ready, the ones I use the most frequently (as in at least once a week are Grofers and Swiggy).
What are your must have apps? In Mumbai or the rest of India.

Share in the comments, but refrain from sharing too many links, I wouldn't want the comment section to look spammy (spam comments will be removed).

“Cynthia Haller is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.in.”